230 CHAPTER 10 Sustaining Terrestrial Biodiversity: The Ecosystem Approach
This in turn would help to slow global warming, as
more trees would remove more of the carbon dioxide
that we are adding to the atmosphere.Governments and Individuals
Can Act to Reduce Tropical
Deforestation
In addition to reducing fuelwood demand, analysts
have suggested other ways to protect tropical forests
and use them more sustainably. One way is to help
new settlers in tropical forests to learn how to practice
small-scale sustainable agriculture and forestry. An-
other is to harvest some of the renewable resourcessuch as fruits and nuts in rain forests on a sustainable
basis. And strip cutting (Figure 10-6c) can be used to
harvest tropical trees for lumber.
In Africa’s northern Congo Republic, some nomadic
forest-dwelling pygmies go into the forests carrying
hand-held satellite tracking devices in addition to their
traditional spears and bows. They use these Global Po-
sitioning System (GPS) devices to identify their hunt-
ing grounds, burial grounds, water holes, sacred areas,
and areas rich in medicinal plants. They then download
such information on computers to provide a map of ar-
eas that need to be protected from logging, mining, and
other destructive activities.
Debt-for-nature swaps can make it financially attrac-
tive for countries to protect their tropical forests. In
such swaps, participating countries act as custodiansINDIVIDUALS MATTER
Wangari Maathai and Kenya’s Green Belt Movement
In 2006, she launched a project to plant
a billion trees worldwide in 2007 to help
fight poverty and climate change. The project
greatly exceeded expectations with the plant-
ing of 2 billlion trees in 55 countries. In 2008,
the UNEP set a goal of planting an additional
5 billion trees.
Wangari tells her story in her book The
Green Belt Movement: Sharing the Approach
and the Experience, published by Lantern
Books in 2003.n the mid-1970s, Wangari Maathai
(Figure 10-B) took stock of environmen-
tal conditions in her native Kenya. Tree-lined
streams she had known as a child had dried
up. Farms and plantations that were draining
the watersheds and degrading the soil had re-
placed vast areas of forest. The Sahara Desert
was encroaching from the north.
Something inside her told Maathai she
had to do something about this degrada-
tion. Starting with a small tree nursery in her
backyard, she founded the Green Belt Move-
ment in 1977. The main goal of this highly
regarded women’s self-help group is to orga-
nize poor women in rural Kenya to plant and
protect millions of trees in order to combat
deforestation and provide fuelwood. By
2004, the 50,000 members of this grassroots
group had established 6,000 village nurseries
and planted and protected more than 30 mil-
lion trees.
The women are paid a small amount for
each seedling they plant that survives. This
gives them an income to help break the cycle
of poverty. It also improves the environment
because trees reduce soil erosion and provide
fruits, fuel, building materials, fodder for
livestock, shade, and beauty. Having more
trees also reduces the distances women and
children have to walk to get fuelwood for
cooking and heating. The success of this
project has sparked the creation of similar
programs in more than 30 other African
countries.
I
Figure 10-B Wangari Maathai was the
first Kenyan woman to earn a Ph.D. and
to head an academic department at the
University of Nairobi. In 1977, she orga-
nized the internationally acclaimed Green
Belt Movement. For her work in protecting
the environment, she has received many
honors, including the Goldman Prize, the
Right Livelihood Award, the U.N. Africa
Prize for Leadership, and the 2004 Nobel
Peace Prize. After years of being harassed,
beaten, and jailed for opposing govern-
ment policies, she was elected to Kenya’s
parliament as a member of the Green
Party in 2002. In 2003, she was appointed
Assistant Minister for Environment, Natural
Resources, and Wildlife.Charlotte Thege/Peter Arnold, Inc.In 2004, Maathai became the first African
woman and the first environmentalist to be
awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her life-
long efforts. Within an hour of learning that
she had won the prize, Maathai planted a
tree, telling onlookers it was “the best way
to celebrate.” In her speech accepting the
award, she said the purpose of the Green Belt
program was to help people “make the con-
nections between their own personal actions
and the problems they witness in their envi-
ronment and society.” She urged everyone in
the world to plant a tree as a symbol of com-
mitment and hope.